Former congressman Bill Gray dies at 71

Former Philadelphia congressman and United Negro College Fund chief Bill Gray has died. He was 71.

Former Philadelphia congressman Bill Gray died Monday in London. He was 71.Credit: Getty Images

Former Philadelphia congressman and United Negro College Fund chief Bill Gray has died. He was 71.

Gray died suddenly Monday at a hotel in London, where he was attending Wimbledon, according to multiple reports.

Gray served Pennsylvania's Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 20 years. A longtime minister at Philadelphia's Bright Hope Baptist Church, he was first elected to Congress in 1978.

Gray was the first black House majority whip and budget committee chairman.

He became head of the United Negro College Fund in 1991, overseeing the organization during a period in which it brought in billions of dollars to support black college students.